Mockingbird Hill Cottage
Around the house – as seen yesterday afternoon:
McCoy and Bakelite
Listening
Scout kicks up a rug
Stacks of china
A heart from Judy
Roseville
My adorable nephew, Little Z
Vintage linen
Pretty flowers
Meredith and me (with cow)
The winner of a copy of Hush Hush by Laura Lippman is Barb H. Barb, I’m sending you a email. Congratulations!
New post up at Just Let Me Finish This Page.
Happy Tuesday.
Evidence of yesterday’s Pi Day celebration here at the cottage.
Apple pie for breakfast.
It rained most of the day yesterday and then turned very foggy last night. Since Don was out doing a gig, I was a wee bit nervous about his return home, but he made it home safely. All is well.
Today looks to be gray and windy. I saw the sun for brief moment, but it has disappeared. I will repeat to myself, “That’s okay. Gray is okay, because the snow is melting!”
After gazing across the room at the quilt ensconced in its protective cover every day for about a month and a half and doing nothing, I finally took it out of its bag and gathered my hand quilting tools together. I switched out the lamp on my side table (not bright enough) and spent about three hours hand quilting in the late afternoon. As always when I start hand quilting after a long break, the index finger on my left hand has to build up a callus to withstand the prick of the quilting needle. That callus isn’t quite there yet, so my finger is a bit sore today.
This quilt has very large squares, so when I take a look at it and think to myself, “I’ll do a square a day!” I quickly realize that my expectations need to be adjusted. I’m quilting rather densely and there’s simply no way I can do a whole square unless I’m willing to forgo everything else I have to do in the course of the day. A good lesson in staying in the moment. I’ll just do what I can do that day.
And of course, Dame Scout was constantly demanding something or other. She needed to go out. She wanted her dinner. She wanted me to start cooking my dinner so she could watch. She had to go out again. She has very clear ideas about the proper order of her day. My job, apparently, is to facilitate it for her.
Doesn’t she realize Mom is quilting? That the quilt is big and awkward and that Mom has to get up and rearrange everything before she can attend to her Dameship’s needs?
Short answer: She doesn’t care.
I do love hand quilting. It’s the only way I quilt. I’ve quilted everything – from a queen-sized quilt to a mini quilt – that way. It takes a lot of time, yes, but it’s very satisfying. And meditative. Someday I may send one out to be quilted because it can be hard on your hands and wrists, but for now, I’m doing it my way.
I realized after I asked the question about whether I should showcase the egg cups again this year that the way I phrased it sort of prohibited anyone from saying “No more egg cups!” in the comments. Silly. Ah well. It does seem, however, that most of you would like to see them again or for the first time, so I will highlight them sometime before Easter.
It’s the Ides of March.
Happy Sunday.
When you’re somewhat housebound in the midst of winter, a day where the sun is streaming in your windows makes all the difference, don’t you think? We’ve had more than a few of those sunny days lately (not to mention warmer temps and melting snow, huzzah!) Our bedroom is awfully pretty when the sun pours in the two tiny windows so I grabbed my camera the other day to take some pictures.
My pals. Maggie Rabbit, Wayfrum Holmes and Little Lamb. You’re probably familiar with them, but if you’re a newish reader, I’ll introduce them to you. Maggie Rabbit was made by me from a kit designed by the lovely Alicia Paulson of Posie Gets Cozy. By the way, Alicia has just added more Maggie Rabbit patterns to her shop. They go very quickly, so if you’re interested hop on over. I made Maggie when I was working out of town in Hartford and I love her.
Wayfrum Holmes was given to me by Don when I was about to leave for a six month stint in San Diego. Wayfrum kept me company while I was away from my loved ones. Little Lamb was a lovely gift from Sheila. Maggie, Wayfrum and Little Lamb are my traveling companions when I’m going to be away from home for a longish time.
They are perched upon a vintage hatbox I found many years ago in the Berkshires.
Right next to them are framed photos of our dogs: Winston, Scout and Riley. (Have to straighten that photo.) The mirror was a gift from my mom. The McCoy pottery piece is filled with pennies. And you can just see my other parakeet lamp, which is sitting on the bookcase because it needs to be rewired, along with at least two other lamps we own.
I own several pieces of Roseville pottery but this one just might be my favorite. It’s a cornucopia in the Bushberry pattern. It sits in a place of honor on my dresser.
Uh oh. Now I’m fixating on Roseville and this particular pattern. It might be time to add to my collection. Roseville can be very pricey, but it’s all in the timing. I’ve found some pieces at auction for very little money. If you go to a higher-end antique shop, you’re going to pay a lot more. The very first piece I ever purchased was a little bowl in the brown version of Bushberry. I got it in a little shop in San Diego when we were still living there.
The photo in the background is of yours truly in her office when I was teaching at Boston University. The other piece of pottery on the right is McCoy. It’s full of fabric hearts. The dresser scarf is really a tea towel. (I like it much better as a dresser scarf.)
It’s sunny again today. Snow is melting. I know that March is a big tease and that the temperature will eventually get colder, but boy, do we appreciate this little warm spell. The driveway is mud, of course. We had to put down some straw in Scout’s mini-corral because it’s also a sea of mud. But we’ll take it.
An interesting article in yesterday’s New York Times: The State of Alabama is now investigating a complaint of elder abuse re: Harper Lee and the decision to publish her ‘new’ novel.
Happy Thursday.
